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The head of the UN force in the Central African Republic pleads for a reflection on a new generation of peacekeeping missions in Africa. Should United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa carry out a profound transformation to adapt to new challenges they face? This is one of the major questions debated at the 6th annual conference on Peace and Security in Africa (APSACO) organized on 20 and 21 July in Rabat by the very influential Moroccan think tank Policy Center for the New South (Centre des Policies for a New South). “Over the past two years, peacekeeping missions have evolved from a context of peaceful settlement of disputes, which was under Chapter 6 of the United Nations Charter, to a new context which is that of military action, placed under chapter 7″, introduces General Sidiki Traoré, Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (Minusca). according to him, “the use of force is neither systematic nor immediate. “We go through several stages before we get there. There is constraint, the coercive means taken once morest the belligerents up to the use of lethal force to maintain or restore peace, “explains the boss of the Minusca force who asks himself the question of knowing if the UN forces can properly carry out their mission while respecting one of the fundamental principles of peacekeeping, namely impartiality? In his view, “this is a big one of the big challenges facing peacekeeping missions today. “There are also contributing countries that come in particular contexts, with different cultures, different history and particular political relations with the host country. This is yet another source of difficulty and complexity for the mission”, explains the Burkinabé officer. To this, he adds the different typologies of countries where UN intervention is necessary. General Traoré identifies two types of countries. Those whose defense and security forces (FDS) have been defeated and others with an army that is still functional. In the first case, “countries generally rely on UN missions to ensure sovereign actions and the reconstruction of their security defense forces. In the second case where the FDS are still in place, it is less simple. “These consider that the presence of the mission is an obstacle to their action, which often leads the missions in this context to experience violations of the free movement of United Nations personnel”, notes the Force Commander of the Minusca which cites the example of Unamid (Joint Mission of the United Nations and the African Union in Darfur). The senior Burkinabé officer did not cite the example of Mali where the Minusma, whose mandate was renewed on June 29 for an additional year, no longer has freedom of movement, in particular to investigate allegations of violation of human rights. The authorities of the transition resulting from the second coup d’etat of May 2021 following a first committed nine months earlier once morest Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK) opposed this will of the United Nations Security Council. For him, the UN forces must also integrate “a new context” represented by the presence of “bilateral forces” at their side. This action is necessary insofar as the “modus vivendi” of these bilateral forces does not correspond to the mandate of the UN missions. “How to reconcile these two presences and continue to fulfill our missions in the most professional way”, he asks. General Traoré also mentioned “the presence of armed terrorist groups” and wondered whether the response given by the UN forces to the actions carried out by these non-State actors was appropriate. “Isn’t it time to start thinking regarding a new generation of United Nations peacekeeping missions, taking into account the current context we are going through? », asks the Burkinabé general who recognizes that « we have to face all these challenges ».
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